A Ninja Among Us
by Agent H.E.R.O
Summary: this story is about a new ninja who moves to the village with her father. read how she encounters sakura, naruto, and kakashi. new chapter will be posted later this week! takes place during the shipuden, after naruto gets back to the village.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, never will. This is a story that I decided is OK to put up. Please comment and message! Thanks for reading!

PS: Sorry about the bad title :P

A Ninja Among Us

Chihiro squeezed her father's hand one last time before entering the Hidden Leaf Village. " I have to o report to the hokage, why don't you start unpacking our things." Chihiro nodded and ran after the moving people.

"So why'd you ask me to move over here?" The hokage stood and looked out the window. "We both love this city Takashi." The father's face showed confusion, what was the hokage getting at?

"I fear the village will need all the power it can get. I know it worked out for a while with you living away from the village and still being a shinobi, but after Miu's death..." Her voice trailed off. Takashi didn't need any more of an explanation other than that. To bring up his dead wife, whatever it was, it had to he important.

"The missions you'll be sent on will be at least A rank, and will require a special briefing by yours truly." Takashi's mind flew to Chihiro, his daughter.

"Don't worry about her, the sensei's will watch over her, along with myself." The man looked into the hokage's eyes, "Chihiro has been taught in the ways of a shinobi, unfortunately she didn't care for that certain path too much, but she's strong. She can handle herself." Tsunade sighed, "Is there anyway she'd like to return to the path? The village needs all the ninja we can find." His face smoothed out, "Chihiro would be more than glad to help. Her rank before she left was chunin, she's kept her skills in top peek. I've made sure of that."

"Well then, I'll expect both of you here at eight a.m." Taking this as his turn to leave, he walked out.

"Dad, I thought I told you, I don't want to be a ninja." Their first dinner in their new house consisted of vegetable flavour ramen, since neither of them were very good cooks. "I know Chihiro, but you'll still be able to be an architect while being a ninja." The fourteen-year-old girl sighed; her father always put her in awkward positions.

"What if I screw up?"

"Then you screw up."

"Well that's not very helpful." The red head said, slightly annoyed. "Will I at least be able to go on solo missions? I don't know these people, it'd be uncomfortable."

Her father scoffed, "It doesn't matter if you're comfortable or not, you'll work with who they put you with. End of the matter. Now eat your ramen. Don't you want to grow up to be a big strong jounin like your dad?"

"No." Takashi nudged his daughter jokingly. "You want to go and get a feel for the village?" She slurped her noodles and tried to talk at the same time, "I dunf rul caf." He rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you not to talk with food in your mouth?" She made a huge swallow. "I meant I don't really care." "Come on squirt."

"Hah, just smell that fresh September air. Isn't the air cleaner here with all the trees?" Chihiro shrugged, "It seems the same to me." They walked for a half an hour before the girl saw a ramen stand. "Dad, we have to come here tomorrow! It smells so good!" There were already two other customers eating their food. "Ichiraku's ramen is the best!" Shouted the blonde. "Really? What's your favorite type?" The two teens started talking lively, about ramen. Her father sweat dropped silently. "Chihiro, you can't just interrupt these people's meals." Chihiro pouted, "He started talking to me! Honestly, I didn't interrupt."

"I'm sorry, my daughter gets a little excited when it comes to ramen." The brown haired ninja laughed. "It's fine, Naruto and I weren't discussing anything important." He caught sight of the older gentleman's leaf headband. "Is that a hitai-ate?"

"Why yes it is. You see, my daughter and I just moved over here today and are trying to get a feel for the town." Naruto glanced over at Chihiro, "My name is Naruto and I'm going to be the next hokage!" The red head considered this for a moment before responding, "My name's Chihiro, it's nice to meet you!" Quickly finishing his ramen, Naruto and Chihiro went outside the ramen stand to talk. "So you're the new ninja Lady Hokage was talking about?" Iruka ate a few more noodles while listening. "Yeah, I've missed the village a lot. Is something going on here? Hokage seemed a bit worried." Iruka glanced at his noodles before finally selecting a piece, "The akatsuki are after the jinchuriki, as I'm sure you've heard." Takashi slowly nodded his head. "Is that what this is about? Has anything happened to the village?"

"No, but there have been some incidents," Iruka thought back to Asuma's death, and Gaara. "By the way, my name's Takashi." "Iruka." The men shook hands before paying and joining the teens. "Really? That's amazing!" Naruto was talking the young girl's ear off, but she seemed not to mind. "Chihiro, let's walk around the village some more." She waved at Naruto before heading over to her dad.

"Look at the bookstore! It's huge! Can I go in?" Thankful for Chihiro showing some interest in the Leaf Village's people and places, her father agreed. "Only for a little while, I'll be across the street looking at some stores."

Chihiro quietly looked at the huge selection of books while walking. A huge grin flickered across the young girl's face as she found one of the books she had been reading before, but never got a chance to finish it. "No way, Icha Icha Paradise." She whispered softly. A gray haired ninja was standing next to the shelf, reading one of the newer volumes. She walked over to the shelf, but found that she was too short to reach the top shelf where they held Icha Icha Paradise. "Do you need help?" Asked the ninja. Chihiro grinned sheepishly, a bit embarrassed that she had disturbed the man with the mask, who wore a ninja headband as well. "Yeah, I was trying to get Icha Icha Paradise." The jounin grabbed the book, but held it back when he realized she wasn't nearly old enough to read the material. "Are you allowed to read this?" "Yep, my dad doesn't mind." Figuring the young girl would probably get stopped at the cash register anyways he handed the book to the girl. Kakashi hadn't seen her face around here before, was she new? "My name's Chihiro, it's very nice to meet you." Said the girl, bowing respectfully. "Are you new here?" Again the sheepish grin crossed her face, "Is it that noticeable?" He tilted his head, "I sort of know a lot of people here, and it's not a big village so…" Chihiro nodded, already leafing through the pages. "I've been looking for this book everywhere! My friend let me read the first few chapters, but then we moved over here and I had to give it back." Kakashi smiled at the girl beneath his mask. "Who's your favourite character?" Deciding that a little conversation never hurt anyone, he and Chihiro engaged in a conversation.

"Chihiro! Have you been holding up this poor man? I'm sorry." Kakashi looked up and saw a rather muscular ninja walking over to them. He wore blue pants and a green vest giving away his jounin status. "Ah, gomen. I didn't realize how much time had passed." Kakashi held up his hand, "Oh it's no problem, she and I were actually having a rather nice conversation."

"We'll be seeing you around probably. Come on Chihiro." Just like Kakashi thought, the cashier wouldn't let the girl purchase the material. "Dad, I'll pay you back, please!" Her father sighed, "Do you really need that?" She nodded vigorously. "No Chihiro." Kakashi was against children reading mature material, but Chihiro had passed his meter on maturity. "Ah Chihiro, come here for a sec." The red head walked over to the jounin. "Yes?" He put a hand to cover his mouth, as if telling a secret, "I'll let you borrow my copy." She glanced up at him, with hopeful blue eyes, reminding him of Naruto. "Really? Thanks a bunch!" He quickly said he'd find a way to give it to her, before she walked out with her dad.

"Tired yet?" The excitement from finding the book wore Chihiro out. "Yeah." They started walking home when they saw someone seriously hurt. Rushing over, they felt relief when a girl with pink hair used her medical ninjutsu on the man. "Oi, it's a good thing you were here." Said Chihiro. The pink haired kunioichi smiled at them. "Yeah, the poor old man had a heart attack, but he should be okay now." She hefted him on her shoulder before Takashi intervened. "Would you like me to do that? Just tell me where the hospital is." Sakura, thankful to have the burden relieved, placed the man on Takashi's back. "Follow me." They took off at a fast rate. Sakura was surprised when the other girl followed them with ease, even though she didn't sport a headband. "Are you a ninja too?" She asked the girl two years younger than her. "Yeah." They reached the hospital, and a few medics entered surgery while they waited outside. "Are you guys new here?" Questioned Sakura. "Yes, my name is Takashi, and this is my daughter Chihiro." Sakura eyed Chihiro up and down, still a little untrusting. "Come Chihiro, let's go home now that the man is getting help." The two walked out of the hospital into the night air.

Taking off her civilian sandals, Takashi's daughter climbed into bed, before her father pulled her out again. "Let's practice before you go to bed." "But dad-" She whined, too tired to put up any more of a fight. "Go through stances one through six." Chihiro ran through the exercises, as instructed, only to gain miniscule corrections. "Do twenty pushups, and fifty sit-ups. Then you may go to bed." Her sweat pooled on the wooden floor, as she finished her twentieth pushup. 'Geez Dad, do you want me to run a couple miles while I'm at it?' She thought a bit sarcastically. Finally crawling between the sheets, Chihiro let sleep come.

"Wake up Chi!" The lazy teen rolled over in her futon, reluctant to crack her eyes open. Rougher, her father shook her. Realizing that shaking would not work, he snatched the blankets up, exposing the thin girl. "Da~? What tim-" "Almost time to go see Lady Tsunade! Come on! Get dressed!" There was no way Chihiro could get back to sleep after being shaken, and taken from her warm place. Once a few minutes past, she stretched, and changed into her ninja clothes. Fingering the garments, she felt feelings of regret, and sadness. 'Why is he making me do this?' With a sigh, she pulled up her hood, and sheathed the sword hanging inconspicuous at her side.


	2. Chapter 2

Second chapter in a Ninja Among Us. I'd like to thank oOXxJoja LeexXOo for their feedback, because I really wasn't sure about this story, but now it might turn out okay. So thanks for reading, and enjoy!

The Secret Blade: Chihiro vs. Team Gai

"Takashi, you will be sent on an A-rank mission. Here." She gave him a scroll marked secret on the side. "Your teammates are outside waiting for you. They'll brief you." The father walked out, not even looking at his daughter.

"And as for you Chihiro," Tsunade glanced at Shizune and grinned. "I will pair you with Team Gai. Gai-sensei will judge your skills to see if you're still of chunin rank. At the endbof the day, you and Team Gai will report back to me. Sound good?" Chihiro nodded, already disliking the idea. At that moment, a loud thump could be heard, followed by the door slamming open, and a ninja in a green leotard running in.

"You called for me Lady Hokage?" The older woman shook her head, "Gai, next time don't slam the door. This is Chihiro, you will be assessing her prowess as a chunin today along with your team. Feel free to use whatever means necessary." Gai wore a determined look on his face, his smile reached all the way to his eyes. "All right Chihiro, from here on out, this whole day will be a test. My squad and I will be searching for you, while you try and hide." The teen girl immediately assessed that Gai specialized in taijutsu from his body structure. 'He'll be hard to outrun, but I've got this.' She mentally prepared herself. "On your mark, get set, go!" Chihiro jumped through the window, listening for Gai's footprints, but surprisingly couldn't hear them.

"You're going to have to do better than this." The sensei said, appearing in front of her, while poking her forehead back. She recoiled, changing direction, this time using the teleportation jutsu.

"A mission to catch a little girl? Doesn't that sound like genin work?" Gai hmphed, "Neji I can promise you this is no ordinary girl. She's a high talented chunin that just moved into the village and it's our job to determine if she still belongs within the chunin rank."

Lee gasped, "A girl? Is she pretty Gai-sensei?What's her name? Why'd she move into the village? What does she specialize in? What does she look like?" The jounin placed an encouraging hand on Lee's shoulder. "She wears a hood and from what I can tell specializes in taijutsu. Now Neji, use-" "Byakugan! In the east end of Konoha, I'm picking up her chakra presence. She's moving quickly though, we must hurry."

Chihiro heard the rustling of leaves to her right, and immediately threw a kunai in that direction. A bunny rabbit scurried from beneath the bush. 'False alarm, but he's had plenty of time to catch up to me. From what the villagers said, lee is exactly like Gai, shouldn't be too hard to notice him. The girl, Tenten, shouldn't be hard to handle either. But that Neji, the one who inherited the kekkai genkai of the Hyuga clan, he will be a bother, and paired with two taijutsu masters and a weapons expert, this might get difficult. Ah man, I guess I won't have time to read Icha Icha Pradise.' She sighed inwardly, still searching for any signs of her pursuers.

"Leaf Hurricane!" Cried Lee from the pathway. Chihiro blocked the powerful kick with her arms, but Lee surprised her with his quick use of arms, managing to punch her in the nose. The teen skidded back, ignoring the bloody nose, and picked up a kunai from her pack. This time, Tenten summoned her rising twin dragons. Chihiro saw through her jutsu and managed to evade half the weapons, although three shuriken dug into her vest, only slightly piercing her skin.

"8 Trigrams, 64 palms!" Called Neji from behind her. Chihiro curved in and out of his reach, deflecting the chakra-enhanced hands neatly. 'These guys have me on the defensive. At this rate, I'll never be able to win.' From her peripheral vision, she saw Lee rushing towards her again. 'I'll get him this time' She thought, while she ran head on to meet him. At the last second before they clashed, she unsheathed her sword, revealing her ace. "nezumiiro blade!" She slashed at his wrists and ankles. Gray chains appeared where the slash marks were, weighing Lee down. Chihiro's second step was to raise the sword in a horizontal then vertical motion, as if drawing a box. A metal box materialized, successfully capturing Lee within steel bars. Neji came from behind her, hitting her in the back. Her hands landed on the grass, bracing her body for the impact. Before Neji could block more chakra points, Chihiro switched onto her back while kicking Neji's feet from beneath him. She pinned him down under her, and swiftly revealed a small hidden blade. Wasting no time, the teen slashed across Neji's breastbone, and then across his thighs, barely grazing the skin. Instantaneously, steel bars curled themselves around Neji's legs, and torso.

Seeing Neji down, Tenten rushed at Chihiro with a giant shuriken, before violently throwing it. The sword fighter danced around, catching it last minute. Tenten grabbed her sword off the ground and tried attacking the other girl, but the sword kept missing. The secret blade appeared again, slashing at Tenten's wrist. Chains made her arm too heavy to lift, as her body followed suit to the ground. Chihiro confidently picked up the sword, a small smile playing on her face. Until she saw a blur running at full speed. "Shit" Was all she said before he knocked her over, right into the ground besides Neji. She hopped backward as Gai started laughing.

"I'll admit you did a good job defeating my team. But can you defeat me?"

Oh no! What will happen to Chihiro when up against Gai? Does she have enough energy to keep going? Or will she surrender? What's the top secret mission Takashi's on? Is Chihiro starting to fall for someone? Will she be put on a mission? Keep reading to find out! Update tomorrow, maybe. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Third Chapter of A Ninja Among Us! I'd especially like to thank Red Koi, and oOXxJoja LeexXOo for the helpful feedback and comments. Enjoy!

PS: The title comes from the song Harder Better Faster Stronger by Daft Punk because I've had that song stuck in my head, and it sort of matched with the story.

**Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger**

Previously: "I'll admit you did a good job defeating my team. But can you defeat me?"

Chihiro's confident smile wore off into a somber look. Ever since Gai's feet left the ground, Chihiro's tried to match his steps. Sweat dripped down her face, as her body tired from the fast pace. He dealt a blow between the chest plates that sent her staggering back. Shallow gasps emitted from her mouth, she was barely balanced. For the third time, her hidden blade appeared, clashing with the sensei's knuckles as she blocked his attack. A thin trace of blood drew from the line she made. Without a second hesitation, Chihiro flung herself at Gai, effectively knocking him into the ground. The physical struggle reawakened the blow from Neji, and the aches from Lee's kick. Gai was too quick though; he had already wrestled out of her grip and was back up. Chihiro knew she lost the millisecond Gai got up again, heck; the only reason why she won against his team was probably because she had learned from the villagers what some of their attacks were. He poised his kunai at the nape of her neck. "I give up." she released the jutsu. Gai helped her off the ground while putting away his kunai.

"Not bad Chihiro." Said Gai with a smile. Lee, Neji, and Tenten reassembled with them, each rubbing the area nicked. "I'll give you a ten minute break before starting on the next task." The girl nodded, not exactly thrilled for another trial.

She laid back against the trunk of a tree and breathed deeply. She stretched, mindful of Gai and the others watching her. For a brief second, she was reminded of the times she sparred with her father. Just the two of them. After her mother died, the only way to communicate with her father was through sparring, until a year after her death.

"Chihiro? You okay?" Someone was shaking her shoulder. She lazily opened one eyelid, seeing Gai-sensei, she proceeded to get up and yawn.

"Tired?" Her headed tilted to the side while answering Gai, "A little."

"Well, let's finish this up, before the sun sets."

"Your task is to find a purple amulet. I'll give you to the count of three." Her feet placed themselves in the running position. "One." Her arm ran across her face, wiping the sweat from her eyes. "Two." The last remnants of drowsiness disappeared under a confident face. "Three." At a fast pace, Chihiro traveled through the windiest roads, hoping to loose her trackers. Double-checking to make sure no one had followed her, she unsheathed her blade, and whispered a few words; the reflection of the amulet appeared in the sword. The teen swiftly placed the sword back in the sheath and moved toward the amulet.

'Judging from the last fight, I should be way ahead of them' Chihiro thought before entering an open field. From what seemed to be out of nowhere, Tenten jumped out, kunai already digging into the other girl's chest. Surprised, said girl fumbled back, but Lee was behind her. "Lion's barrage!" By the time she hit the ground, she was formulating how to prevent any more attacks from reaching her, but a blow to her chakra points disrupted her thoughts. "8 Trigrams 64 Palm!" She tried dodging out of it like last time, but Neji was faster. This time there was no time to dodge or even protect. His hands hit almost all the places he aimed for. Neji, Tenten, and Lee stood in their own place, satiated. But Chihiro wouldn't give up that easily. She dug her sword into the ground, using the weapon as a walking stick. "Give up, there's nothing you can do." Said Neji.

Within another second her panting ceased, and she whispered, "Midori Blade." The sword emitted a glowing green light. Her hands plunged the metal into the ground, where a crack appeared. The ground rose up around the crack, cradling the amulet and bringing it to Chihiro. She grasped the diamond with one of her hands, the other still using the sword to stand.

Chihiro's breath became more laboured as the ground turned back to normal. Each member of team Gai looked at her quizzically, until she collapsed on the grass. Gai and the other members rushed toward her. Her eyes glanced over them, "I…don't…understand…your attacks…not as quick…before." She said in between breaths. Neji looked at her with contempt. "We were going easy on you before. Did you honestly think that the Hyuga clan's master attack would be that slow?" She pushed herself up on her elbows.

Gai laughed heartily, "Of course my students weren't that slow!" Lee matched his sensei's smile with his own, right down to the sparkle in the teeth.

For a moment, an unexplainable sadness flooded through her. Only a sort of hollowness lay where the warmth of a sensei's guiding hand should've been. Lee helped her up gently.

Time for team building!" Shouted Gai loudly. "Everyone arrange themselves in a circle." The students did as instructed, waiting for further orders. "Since Chihiro is new to Konohagure, we will each recommend one place she must see in the village." Lee immediately raised his hand.

"Let me go first Gai-sensei please! I have someplace I wish to take Chihiro to!"

"Alright Lee, you may go first." Said Gai while giving his pupil thumbs up.

"There is a beautiful grass meadow that I would like you to go to with me tomorrow night. Please!" Lee looked so hopeful and cute she couldn't say no, "Sure, sounds like fun."

Tenten cleared her throat, "Well if you ever need some new weapons you could visit this amazing blacksmith in the eastern end of the village. He does such good work!" Neji sighed besides Tenten, "I would recommend the waterfall over in the North end of the village, it's very relaxing." Gai placed a hand on Chihiro's shoulder.

"Ready to go see Tsunade now?"

What will Gai tell Tsunade? Will Chihiro remain as a chunin or even a ninja? Where did her dad go? Why does Lee want to take Chihiro to a meadow? Update later in the week. Please review and message, thanks and keep reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the bad title and for being late! Reviews welcome!

**DOWNGRADED**

"We've decide to demote you down to a genin." Said Tsunade letting the words sink in. Chihiro glanced up in confusion plgm at this statement.

"Wait, demoted?" She repeated while scruntching up her nose. She knew that her performance wouldn't be considered good enough to get a promotion, but a demotion! Her face visibly flushed white.

"If I may be so bold as to ask why ma'am?"

Tsunade let out a long sigh, "Chihiro, your father has kept you sheltered and protected. If you really want to get your chunin status back, you have to prove to me that you aren't an overprotected, spoiled brat."

If she could, Chihiro would've cursed Tsunade out. But seeing as how that would only loose her points she kept her mouth clamped tight and simply nodded.

"You will begin training with Gai and possibly Kakashi" Chihiro bit her lip so hard blood ran down the inside her mouth.

"Yes ma'am"

Dark lines hid beneath Chihiro's tired eyes as she ran a 5mile warm up. "Come on Chihiro! Lift those arms!" She glared at Gai underneath the trees. "Now!" He shouted as Chihiro sped towards him. She kicked; he blocked and pushed her forward.

"You have to get better balance. Try again."

Her sword shot out from her side, forcing Gai backward, but only a little. He evaded her sword without breaking a sweat and punched her in the stomach.

"Faster Chihiro, you'll never be able to injure anyone if you move that slow."

Sweat glistened down her face as she held the sword steady once more.

The teenager collapsed underneath the shade of the tree, thoroughly exhausted.

"How are you liking the leaf village so far?"

She lifted her arm off her eyes to see the man in green standing over her, blocking out the sun.

"Hnh"

Gai laughed in his loud jovial sort of way.

"That's not an answer!"

She rolled to the side, with her back facing the sensei. Thinking he offended her in some way, Gai placed his hand on her shoulder, "You remind me of my other students."

"Where are they today?"

"Off on a mission of course!" A strong wind blew Chihiro's brunette hair back along the grass. Gai and Chihiro's haze met, for a moment it seemed like they connected through unspoken words.

"Lee promised to take me to the meadow tonight."

She said dully, fully aware of the miniature green ninja. "He'll be back by then. He'd never miss a chance to take a pretty girl out." Chihiro's head snapped in Gai's direction, but he was already up and ready for the next training session.

By the time nightfall came, Chihiro could barely feel her legs.

"Tomorrow we will meet at the lake instead of here." She nodded, using the least amount of energy possible.

"Get some sleep, don't stay out too late with Lee."

Her feet fumbled back to the old house. Half way through the walk, she thought someone was following her. Chihiro turned on her heel quickly, catching Kakashi behind her. "Yo!" They were hairs with apart, each one breathing on the other.

"Ah can I help you with something?" Kakashi's one eye looked her up and down before he finally produced a book from his pouch. Trying to hide The upsurge of happiness, Chihiro took the book carefully.

"Thanks, where and when should I return it?"

He waved his hand, "We'll probably be seeing each other around, just return it then." She nodded, happiness seeping through her facade.

With a hop in her step, she continued home.

Sorry that's it's not very long, and that I'm a few days late, but there's just been so much going on! Working on the next chapter already, be up on Sunday or sooner! Thanks for reading and comments/criticism is always welcome!


	5. Chapter 5

Here's the next chapter of A Hero Among Us and it's not late! I'd especially like to thank Red Koi who keeps reviewing my chapters. Message and rate please!

Falling Stars

"Lee, I don't understand why you took me here."

Said Chihiro. It's not that she was mad, but could Lee have picked a worst time to take her out. Her body ached, she hadn't eaten dinner yet, and tomorrow's training was supposed to be deadly. He tugged her hand without answering her, effectively bringing her down on the ground. Chihiro let out a breath looking up at the billions of stars from underneath the trees.

"I can't remember the last time I sat and watched the stars like this."

Lee's hand moved towards hers through the leaves. Just then the meteor shower began.

"Woah!" She exclaimed.

He blushed a bit as his hand gently made contact with hers. Chihiro, noticing the gesture but failing to look away from the stars turned a pinkish shade in the moonlight.

"Brr... It's a bit chilly isn't it?"

Lee nodded again. This time he moved closer, almost as if trying to snuggle on the bed of leaves. Realizing what Lee was doing, she moved in closer until her head rested comfortably on his chest. They stayed like that, watching the stars until a ninja came and found them. Quickly tearing apart at the sound of soneone's footsteps, Chihiro and Lee both readied a defensive stance until they saw it was another leaf shinobi.

"Your father has returned from his mission. Tsunade wants to see you immediately."

She glanced at Lee with a longing look, and with one last squeeze between their hands left to Tsunade's office.

Before Chihiro entered the office, she heard other shinobi's voices. She couldn't quite make out the words, but their tone did not sound good.

"Come in"

Chihiro stepped into the room, ignoring the people around her and focusing on Tsunade.

"You wanted to see me?"

The hokage cleared her throat, "Your father has been seriously injured on his last mission. Before you go visit him, there are some things you should know about his condition."

Chihiro gulped, not liking where this was going.

"Takashi is stable as of the moment, but his condition can change in an instant. I don't want you to tell him any bad news or anything that might upset his condition. Do not under any circumstances touch your father. If he pulls through the night, he'll most likely survive, but there is a small percent chance that he'll... Nurse, escort Chihiro please."

The nurse led the teen through a series of hallways, down a flight of stairs, and through some more hallways until they reached his room, 221b.

The nurse left the two of them alone in silence. Takashi's breathing was labored, and she could see many bruises and scratches. A deep cut ran across his chest, with another cut curving around his chin.

"Chi."

He whispered quietly. She ran to his bedside, all aches forgotten.

"Dad, what happened?" She asked leaning over the bedside.

"You've been...demoted." He said in between breaths. "Oh yeah, I was going to tell you as soon as you got home." His looked upon her with sadness and a small amount of shame. After living with him all her life, Chihiro read his emotions perfectly.

"Why don't we talk about something else?" Chihiro suggested, but her father continued to stare at her.

"Why?" He asked, unable to change the subject.

"The weather's been nice here lately. I saw a meteor shower with my friend tonight." She said, trying for a casual conversation with him.

"Chihiro…try to focus…on training now."

"Don't look at me like that, I tried my best!" She snapped.

"Chihiro, sometimes your best...isn't good...enough!" He tried raising his voice with little success.

"You don't understand dad! This was different!"

As the argument became more heated; his breathing became more unsteady and even his deepest breaths were shallow.

"Ever since Mom died all you care about is training!" She screamed.

The mentioning of his wife made Takashi's heart stop all together. His face contorted in pain as his heart beat raced out of rhythm. The monitors sounded as nurses came rushing in, Sakura among them. Tsunade followed soon after.

"What's going on?" She asked, but the medical personnel kept moving her backward until she was completely out of the room and they shut the door. She sat in one of the chairs feeling lower than dirt.

'Why didn't I listen to what Tsunade said? Why couldn't I hold my tongue, just for tonight?' She thought silently.

A few tears slid down her cheeks that had but hours ago been tickled pink from Lee's affection. She sat there for what seemed like hours with her head cradled in her hands. Finally Tsunade came out.

"I don't know what you said to him to make him have a heart attack, but you damn well better not do it again or else we won't be able to get him back!" The hokage said while glaring at the young girl. Sakura followed suit.

Chihiro was at a lost. She didn't want to go back into that room with her father, but she didn't want to go back to an empty house. After another minute she got up from the uncomfortable plastic chair and walked home, but she didn't enter. Instead, she went into the back and started practicing. New anger and emotions flew into her movements. The adrenaline rush made her heart pound harder, her moves faster, her breath hotter. Well after the adrenaline rush wore off, Chihiro climbed into bed sweaty. Not bothering to take a shower, she pulled the sheets up over her head and slept.

"I don't know Gai, I really don't think sleeping in is such a great trait for a genin."

What will Chihiro's training consist of this time with Kakashi teaching her? What really happened to her father and why is he in such a bad condition? How will Chihiro mend her relationship with her father? Could there be a second chance for a date with Lee? When will Chihiro go on a real mission? Criticism welcome! Thanks and keep reading! ~Agent H.E.R.O.


End file.
